Under the moonlight

Chapter 9

I stayed at Kia's house waiting for my clothes to dry up since they were kind of damp and then neaten my hair.  It was a lot of work and I felt a little bit angry at Kojo for it was all his fault. We spent a lot of time hatching a plan to teach Amare a lesson and giggling at the same time.

"I cannot wait to see his face on that night."
I said as I helped Kia arrange her clothes .

"There will not be any look on his face with my hair looking like this. "

Sure enough, both of us really needed to visit Kamali and fix our hair.

"True. This Savannah tuft of mine really needs some work. "
I grimaced as I imagined the pain I would feel when my hair will be pulled. But beauty is pain.

"We should inform Kamali early enough before all those village girls beat us to it.  The place is definitely going to be crowded. "

The dance was only weeks away and I knew everyone would be trying to look their best, Just to impress some village boys.
I was not let out either, I found myself thinking of Kojo before I decided how I was going to make my hair. I had suddenly become self conscious of how I looked and even how I walked!

I finally settled on cornrows, mainly because they will be done within a short period of time, which meant, less pain from the pulling and from Kamali's gossip.
She could be exasperating.

"Finally, the beauty decided to come home. " 
Mama startled me from my thoughts as I walked home into the house.

"Take care Dembe, I cannot bear the shame if people start gossiping of how bad a mother I am. "

"No need to worry, Mama, I can never bring Shame to you. "

I tried to assure her but I could still see uncertainty in her her eyes. Mama's greatest weakness is that she cared more about what people out there would say. She seeked approval, and most of all, Papa's. Overly submissive, if you asked me.
Papa was a quiet man but no-one could argue with him after he had made a decision . He was as ruthless in making his decisions just as he was careless when he swang his fists whenever he was angry.

Just like many other nights after meeting Kojo, I could not get myself to sleep. I stared at my roof and imagined the stars in the sky and imagined how the dance would be. I wondered whether Kojo would ask me. I wanted to go with him but I could not make it so obvious. I was still my own African Queen. :-)

I was sure the dance was going to be very eventful. I had asked Amare who he was taking to the dance and he was still clueless, hiding behind the facade that he was spoilt for choice.

"I am going with someone, Just that those girls are too many and are completely confusing me. "

"You have not seen confusion in its entirety, brother. "

I felt sorry for his arrogant self. I was sure Kia's plan would definitely work and confuse him even more.

Kojo's pov

"Kojo, come and sit down here at once, we need to talk. "
I knew I was in deep trouble whenever my mother 'summoned' me like that. Moreover, it was time to sleep and there she was saying we needed to talk. I had noticed that she was stealing glances at me when we were eating, so it was not that much if a surprise when she called me.

"Ok, Maa "  I chose a place away from the light then sat down.

""Come over here, I was not born today, I am your mother and I know you very well. "

I was kind of expecting that reaction, so I shamefully got up and sat directly in  front of her. I knew she wanted to read my expressions as she talked to me.

"My son... "    There goes my pride.

"What is going on with you?  You look more than excited there days."

Was she joking? Parents wanted to see their children happy and here she was, worried that her only son was excited. Things only my mother knows how to do.

"But should be a good thing Maa,."  I was amused.

"I know, I just feel like it has something to do with a girl. "

There it was, finally!

"What If it really has to do with a girl, Maa? "

I was free with my mother. I could joke around with her and she allowed me express myself.

"This is not a joke,boy, I know about all the things they say about you in this village. How do you think that makes me feel? We make mistakes but you do not have to repeat them. I hope that this excitement of yours is not emitted from deceiving someone's daughter. What is going around is enough. "

Yes, there was someone's daughter, but this time, no deception at all.  I wanted to bring out the best in me, specifically, for that someone's daughter.

"You have my word, Maa, no more silly mistakes. "

I was not yet ready to talk to her about Dembe.

"I trust you, my son. You cannot afford to break my heart, because you are my only eye, after your father's death..*sniff* "

I knew she would be in tears the next minute and start talking about Papa.
His death had really taken a toll on her and she would break down most of the time. Not wanting to listen to how she loved the goosebumps that Papa gave her, I decided to go to bed.

"Take care. I am sure you know how babies are conceived. "

She shouted amid laughter and crying as I made my way out. Trust her to make everything awkward.

Once in my room, I thought about the two women in my life that I really adored. Both if them were quite a handful. I kept seeing D's face and my hands on that chocolate skin of hers. Wild thoughts. ;-)

******

A mother-son  moment, interesting, right?

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Love,
Daisy. 💋